Weak law enforcement blamed for piracy

Weak law enforcement blamed for piracy

JAKARTA (JP): The government defended its poor record against
copyright piracy on Friday, arguing that it was a reflection of
weak law enforcement as a whole.

The director general for intellectual property rights A. Zen
Umar Purba said curbing copyright infringements would be
impossible if the justice system remained corrupt.

"Fighting copyright piracy is strictly about enforcement. A
police raid on counterfeiters is only one step because after that
the case has to be handed over to the prosecutors and then to the
judges," Purba told The Jakarta Post.

When asked to elaborate further on what he meant, Purba merely
replied, "You know what I mean."

"The United States government has put Indonesia on its
priority watch list due to rampant copyright piracy here and
there is nothing we can do about it as long as law enforcement
here is still weak," he added.

The Indonesian Intellectual Property Society has called on the
government to take tougher action in curbing copyright
infringements in Indonesia or face possible retaliation in the
near future.

It has said Indonesia is ranked fourth, after China, Hong Kong
and India, on the priority watch list of copyright infringers.

There was also concern that the law itself may have to be
reviewed as it was considered too light.

The law stipulates a maximum three-year jail sentence or Rp
300 million fine for copyright, patent, or intellectual property
infringements.

Observers said, however, that the punishment is too light
because professional counterfeiters are able to bribe law
enforcers more than Rp 300 million to avoid legal actions.(byg)